Bluenose exhibit adds to red ink
N.S. spends $400,000 on Halifax show
It was a reef off Haiti that claimed the Bluenose fishing and racing schooner in 1946. The Bluenose II replica, launched in 1963 as a sailing ambassador for Nova Scotia, has been battered not by rough seas but by government ineptitude.
Now, after a vastly overbudget restoration project rendered the Bluenose II exhibit A of government waste, the province is spending another $ 400,000 to help restore the schooner’s reputation.
The $ 865,000 project Blue nose: The Legend Lives includes a 45- minute documentary, broadcast last month on CBC, and a 15- minute “4D 360- degree cinematic experience,” open- ing this month on the Halifax waterfront.
John Hennigar- Shuh, president of the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation, said the films are an opportunity to “t urn people’ s perceptions around” after the controversy over the Bluenose II restoration soured the public on what was long a symbol of Nova Scotia accomplishment.
About half the cost is being covered by the province. Producers are hoping for another $100,000 from the federal government, with private donors and ticket sales making up the balance.
The original Bluenose, launched in Lunenburg, N. S ., in 1921, was a response to American supremacy in annual races between fishing schooners. Captained by Angus Walters, the schooner never lost a race and became known as the Queen of the North Atlantic.
“This became not only something that was a source of pride for Lunenburg and a source of pride for Nova Scotia, but this was a national thing,” Hennigar-Shuh said.
“There’s a reason that Bluenose is on the dime. It became a symbol of what we as Canadians could accomplish.”
After a scathing report from the provincial auditor general last year, the Bluenose came to symbolize something else altogether.
When the Nova Scotia government decided in 2009 to restore the Bluenose II, rushing to cash in on matching contributions from the federal Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the cost was estimated at $ 14.4 million, with a completion date of March 31, 2011.
The wooden ship had been owned by the province since 1971, and as it aged its maintenance costs soared. The restoration included a complete rebuilding of the hull and installation of a new rudder.
After the Bluenose II was relaunched in 2012, it was discovered the new steel rud- der was too heavy to steer the ship effectively. The vessel remained stuck in port — an ocean- going ambassador that couldn’t sail — until last summer.
A hydraulic steering system was installed, but even it is cumbersome. CBC reported in March that the province plans to spend up to $ 1 million on a new rudder after the current sailing season.
In a January 2015 report, auditor general Michael Pickup said the restoration cost had soared to $ 25 million and spoke of “a failure of government leadership.”
Nova Scotia was in such a hurry to meet deadlines for the federal infrastructure contribution that the project was not properly planned. Construction delays meant missed deadlines, and Ott awa’s contribution was trimmed to $ 5 million from $7 million.
The project was overseen by the provincial Culture and Heritage Department, which had no experience in major infrastructure projects.
“To this day, everybody within government is essentially left scratching their heads as to why this department was in charge,” Pickup said at the time.
“Given the financial state of the province and the need to effectively manage resources, the government cannot afford to manage this way or it will face the same results on future projects.”
Hennigar- Shuh said he was not involved with the r estoration project, but he is confident the appropriate l essons have been learned.
It is now time for Nova Scotians to break with the “negativity” and be reminded of why the Bluenose is cherished.
“Sometimes we f orget those stories,” he said.
“Sometimes kids growing up in Nova Scotia think, ‘Oh, I can’t go to Los Angeles or New York or Paris. I can’t do anything of significance.’ These stories talk about Nova Scotians who’ve done world- changing significant things.”